One other observation....I would buy the Kaufman edition. It is on better paper and the pictures are reproduced far better than the original....and then there's all those extra pages and the additional history....a bigger bargain than when it originally came out.

Unfortunately, I am not prepared to pay the asking price for the Kaufman edition (my preferred choice).

In light of the overall sentiment that Greater Magic is probably the greatest book on magic ever written, the fact that it has been out of print for many years and the resale value of the Kaufman edition on the secondary marker, I am curious if Richard intends to reprint it in the near future.

I assume Richard has either not seen my post or is keeping tight lipped about any future reprints.

Surely, I cannot be the only one who does not have this book in his library and who cannot wait for another reasonably priced copy to be released?

Pierre: I'm in Brockville, just up the road from you. I have two copies of Greater Magic for sale. The first is the one volume edition. It has no dustcover and was originally in a public library. It has been rebound.

One other observation....I would buy the Kaufman edition. It is on better paper and the pictures are reproduced far better than the original....and then there's all those extra pages and the additional history....a bigger bargain than when it originally came out.

Since I don't get the major conjuring magazines, I'm often in the dark on so-called "trickster" publications. Has anybody commented on the utility/value/relevance of the additional material in the RK edition?

Clay re: the additional pages in Greater Magic - As far as I'm concerned, had Richard Kaufman done nothing other than publish his edition of Greater Magic, he would have made a contribution to the literature equal to that of many others with multiple contributions.

While I already had a copy of GM in my library, I bought Richard's edition for the extra material....a wonderful trip through the history of the book and how it came to be, details of the writing process...how much Hugard was paid and how he was willing to betray whatever friendship he had with Nate Leipsig to include Leipsig's material that he'd withdrawn...lots of interesting details...and some magic, of course.

I should have been more clear. For me, of course, the historical background is interesting reading, and there's little doubt in my mind about the utility/value/relevance of that material.

I was just curious -- and here's where I have no clue whatsoever -- about the utility, etc., (maybe, in a word, "quality"?) of the additional performance material. Just wondering what performers thought about it.

Mario, why would the five-volume set attract any attention? The Jones family was very unhappy about it--that's one of the reasons they didn't allow the book to be reprinted for so many decades.The paper is lousy, and it takes up a lot more room on the shelf.So why the interest? It certainly doesn't contain anything not present in the earlier printings.And, it was printed in a large quantity so it's just as easy to locate as any other edition.

Just my experience, but Ive found that a complete set of the 5 volume edition is appreciably harder to find than single volume copies. At the moment, a quick search on the internet yields no complete sets of the former and more than half a dozen copies of the latter. Thats just a snapshot in time of course, so it may not reflect long-term availability trends. Someone like Mario or one of the other long-time dealers would be in a better position to comment on relative scarcity.

The reason for the Jones family unhappiness with the 5 volume set is not crystal clear from Richards post, but if its related to paper quality, I dont understand that. I have a copy of the first edition and a set of the 5 volume edition I see no significant difference in paper quality.

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman: Mario, why would the five-volume set attract any attention? The Jones family was very unhappy about it--that's one of the reasons they didn't allow the book to be reprinted for so many decades.The paper is lousy, and it takes up a lot more room on the shelf.So why the interest? It certainly doesn't contain anything not present in the earlier printings.And, it was printed in a large quantity so it's just as easy to locate as any other edition.

The five-volumn or library edition is much easier to read, due to the smaller size of the books. Just reading the big volumn damages it, off-putting considering its value.